My Dear Friends, I have been busily working on wrapping things up here at St.

Philips while simultaneously trying to find a house to live in (that will let me keep my cats) and meeting with moving companies, etc . And through it all I have been reflecting on our life together, on the seven years I have been a part of your life and community. When I came to St. Philips I thought it was going to be as a sort of long term interim...three to four years at most. But it quickly became obvious that I was being called to stay, something for which I am extremely grateful! I have found this to be such a community of love and caring. From my first pastoral visit (to Merlinda Williams) to now I have been loved, accepted and supported and I hope you have felt the same from me. I will look back on these years of our ministry together as highlights of my life. When I first came here a phrase kept running through my head, I shall not leave you comfortless. That same phrase has reappeared in thoughts and dreams... And now we must go our separate ways, to new ministries, new people and new places. I go with an open heart and pray for you all to have the same; An open heart to what and who comes next. I have NO DOUBT that our God, who is a good and loving God, has great things in store for St. Philips! God bless and keep you ALL! With love, Rev. Mary

Mary Memories As a parishioner, Im a fairly new member. My husband Tony and I moved to Marysville from Seattle in May, 2006. When we were looking for houses, it was a great selling point for me to be living on 84th street, knowing that St. Philips was just a couple of blocks away. Ive had many wonderful moments and memories with Mary these last five years. One of them was a sermon called Five Steps to Discipleship. Mary gave us all little cards with the five key points to from the sermon remember. Even today I still have that card on my window sill in the kitchen. What I dont like about that sermon is the title. Its because it seems to really mean Five Steps to Stewardship. But if you want to make up your own mind on the title, here are the five steps again for you to give some thought: Everything you have is a gift from God. No one has everything, no one has nothing. All you have you will lose. While you are in possession of it, you and only you decide how to use it. How you use everything that passes through your hands will determine the kind of person you are and will become. Gratitude begats Gratitude Janice Saulewicz

Comments on this years Diocesan Convention

Everyone, as I mentioned last week in church, I really enjoyed and felt so privileged to represent you at this years diocesan convention. There were many moments I enjoyed and some (like the endless minutia and voting processes) I found tedious and boring but necessary. Mikes article really covered just about every high point there. The Friday night Eucharist was so special, as two people were ordained as deacons. Again, my heart soared to see the wonderful balance of male and female clergy represented in our diocese and in our denomination. Now we need to continue to include more people of color and draw in more youth to share in the Good News. Mike and I attended a workshop that previewed the College of Congregational Development. As I was listening to the presentations, many things went through my head concerning our future as a parish. Now what do we do? How do we draw in more people? What can we do to attract those 35 years old and under? What does it take to invite youth in grade school, middle school, and high school to our parish and engage them in participating in the parish? Do we need to get creative on when to have services, such as in the evening for those who work shifts and cant attend Sunday morning? Should we schedule special workshops and request special grant money from the diocese for advertising them? How do we learn from our wonderful church elders and continue to pass on the torch theyve carried all this time at St. Philips?

As you can tell, my mind was and is racing with so many things to consider. We will be discussing our involvement in the College of Congregational Development in the upcoming months. I dont have any answers to these questions. But with Gods help and your support, I know we can go forward with a positive future for St. Philips. Sincerely, Janice Saulewicz

Hi All It was a pleasure for me to attend the 101st Diocesan Convention on Friday and Saturday in Lynnwood, WA. I really enjoyed being there and seeing our Diocese at work. It really hit home to me how fortunate we are that we have Greg Rickel as our Bishop because of his ability to bring factions together to a common goal with humor and straight talk. We listened to the many debates about resolutions covering such items as the Diocesan assessment rate, cost of living adjustment (COLA) for 2011, Supply Clergy compensation increase, suspension and reconsider mandates by General Convention resolution A177, Diocesan Council restructure, establishing the first Sunday in Lent as Episcopal Relief& Development Sunday and the ever popular Thank you for Justice for working people. Janice and I also attended a session put on by The College for Congregational Development that we hope to pursue and investigate as St. Philips moves to the next level in our ministry. But enough about the tasks we worked on and move on to the highlights for me. I really enjoyed The Holy Eucharist on Friday at 5:30P.M. During a portion of the service they also celebrated the ordination of two deacons, Mark Melis Blindheim and Carter Ricks Hawley, which was exciting for me to observe. Bishop Rickel always sends them out to find trouble and bring it back. As a symbol of the dirty work that they must do, he gives each new Deacon one of his wifes dish towels along with a Bible. It was a meaningful and moving part of the service. It was also gratifying to me to see the diversity of our Clergy in the Diocese with many of the Liturgical Ministers being female and also young (younger than me anyway) There was also live music with a choir from St. Hilda-St. Patrick and a Brass Quintet playing Bach, Brahms and Handel. There were so many people attending that there was standing room only. It was also enjoyable to see the young acolytes carrying torches and a cool sphere with bells inside that jingled when they processed around the perimeter and up the aisle. The crucifix was also kind of a Coptic cross and

November Schedules: Date

Nov. 6

Reader
Scott Halsey Susie Halsey

EM
Janice Saulewicz Diane Jones Larry Wilson Pat Wilson Mike Wray Sharon Billings Susie Halsey Bob Tichbourne

Altar Guild

Counters
Jim Wilson Larry Wilson Carolyn Forbes Corleen Wilson Pat Wilson Dorothy Armstrong Bob Tichbourne Diane Jones

Nov. 13

Mike Wray Bob Tichbourne

Nov. 20 Nov. 27

Larry Wilson Pat Wilson Charlotte Champers Sharon Billings

November Birthdays
Nov. 2 Nov. 8 Nov. 11 Nov. 29 Brian Lindsay Robin Haynes

&

Anniversaries
Nov. 20. Phil and Peggy James

Beth Stiles and Dan Garvie Shirley Mahlum

Your Faith, Your Life Nov. 6 10:30 (Sunday) Nov. 13 10:30 (Sunday) Bible Study every Wednesday 4:00 Carolyn Forbes

Sign up sheet on table in Narthex! Or call office at 360-659-1727.

(Continued from page 5)

was very impressive. Seeing the service reminds me that we in the Episcopal Church do things right with all the pomp and circumstance required pulling off a job well done! I also was reminded during the couple of days that we are good stewards in the Episcopal Church of our talents, time and treasure. This also made me reflect on the stewardship drive that we recently began here at St. Philips with the commitment cards and the letter from Bob Tichbourne and the Vestry. Not only does the Diocese of Olympia offer many talents, treasure and time but we at St. Philips demonstrate these qualities each and every Sunday and each week for that matter, in our own community. Even though it was sad for me to see all of the people in the Diocese visiting with Rev. Mary and wishing her well in her new endeavor knowing that she is leaving us, I still am hopeful that we will move forward as a parish with the support of people in the Diocese because of her connections and influence and the commitment they have for the work that she has done here at St. Philips. Again, thank you for the honor of serving as an Alternate to the convention. Peace, D. Michael Wray

Important notes from Peggy James

On Sunday (Nov 6) many of us had a surprise certificate from our rector, Mary! She had designed a certificate for those of us who had Re-Affirmed our Baptismal Vows on August 28, 2011. The re-affirmation happened on 28 August at our annual picnic and visit from our Bishop Greg Rickel, at the home of Phil and Peggy James on the Stilly. The event took place in and around the Stillaguamish River, although the majority of us did not immerse ourselves in the river. The parish always appreciates Marys special way of recognizing individuals and special occasions with her creative talents and graphic skills on the computer. Thanks again, Mary for your many talents and your love and thoughtfulness!!! That same same Sunday, she shared a most spectacular picture she had taken of a whale breeching near the San Juan Islands. Her love of photography and nature has inspired all of us to participate in our many local nature activities! Alsothat Sunday we were celebrating All Saints Day with another outstanding and relative sermon. (go to YouTube which is attached to our web site http//saint-philips.org.)

Picture of orca breech by Rev. Mary Nov 5, 2011

Thank you from neighbors!

Letter from Junior WardenJanice Saulewicz Hi everyone! Just to let you all know our meeting on 3 November with Joan Anthony, Canon to the Ordinary, Assistant to the Bishop, went very well. Bob Tichbourne, Mike Wray, Senior Warden and I were able to meet with her. She is such an upbeat person and sees our changes as positive new opportunities for growth. Joan recommended that for a while we should use supply priests to get us through the holiday season. She stressed the importance of keeping our regular service times, for consistency and lessening the stress of new changes for the parish. And to start things off for the advent season, she will be our celebrant and preacher for 11/27! She will also join us all for our vestry meeting, to give more suggestions to consider for the future. So the services we will need supply priests for are: No service for Thanksgiving Day 12/4 12/11 12/18 (also vestry meeting?) Sat, 12/24, two services, times to be determined by us Sun,12/25, 9AM Sun, 1/1, 9AM Fri, 1/6, Epiphany

St. Philips Memorial Garden Dorothy Armstrong joined our October Vestry meeting to talk about the appearance and the guidelines for the garden. The garden has lots of perennial plants and there are no markers where the ashes have been buried. We talked about markers, crosses or tiles to commemorate those buried. The Vestry needs to look into the guidelines established by the Health Department and make improvements to the Memorial Garden. The garden was established in 1992. Our first internment was Jerry VanDkyke.

Thanksgiving and Christmas Baskets

Thanks to all of you who have donated to the hungry. Its that time again that we ask you to dig a little deeper. We are going to try and provide three baskets this year for members of our own parish and community. There will be a list of items on the table in the Narthex. All items must be turned in by Nov. 20th. Please place items that are for the families under the table in the boxes provided. Thank You Sharon

Marysville Food Bank

The Marysville Food Bank needs donations for their Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets. Thanksgiving items need to be delivered by 15 November and Christmas donations by 13 December. Items needed: Peanut Butter Chicken Noodle Soup Cream of Mushroom Soup Canned Evaporated Milk Fruit Cocktail Gravy Packets Boxed Pancake Mix Syrup 5# bags or Sugar and Flour

St. Philips Episcopal Church 431284th St NE Marysville, WA 98270 Www.saint-philips.org Philippian Editor: Peggy James

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